All Hail Nigeria!

Re: [spiers] All Hail Nigeria!


On Fri, 7 Jul 2006 15:51:38 -0700, "Malcolm D" wrote :

>
> John,
>
> It's my understanding that the Nigerian Scam is the second largest industry
> in Nigeria, or at least the second largest contributor to gross national
> product. If these former civil servants are looking for work, won't a
> significant number of those turn to online scams, which are in fact an
> illicit entrepreneural pursuit, supported in their culture (dinner table
> talk), similer to drug crops in Afghanistan which florished post-Taliban?

***Well, the Taliban brought order to Afghanistan, medieval as it was, and with
the US troops
the chaos has returned, and the drug trade is flourishing once again. How does
reform
flourish? Well, I am sure the Holy Spirit prefers sackcloth and ashes, but has
to settle for
something secondary, perhaps a difference in incentive allocation.

When the Chinese turned down Robert Mugabe's request for funding, I think it
marked a
turning point. Previously the Chinese were no more selective than USA when it
came to their
dictators and puppets. Pol Pot was just fine with China. Now china is showing
a little
discernment.

Are the Chinese taking a page from Jimmy Carter, and requiring that trade with
China mean
some basic rights? Will there be a better distribution than Nigeria got with
USA? Previously
USA Harvard MBA's and Nigerian Harvard MBA's got together and conspired to get
rich as the
first world blacks that populate Nigeria were forced to live in 3rd world
poverty. Locked out
of the system, but knowing the system, they scammed it.

Will a little justice and freedom go a long way? I think so, and it will be
interesting to see if
China is actually on this path.***

Or
> are the Nigerian scams goverment sponsored? I am unclear how firing workers
> considered "unfit" and "guilty of serious misconduct" will contribute to a
> turn around in the culture of their economy. I assume that more competition
> for the operation of Nigerian scams will not reduce the "cost" of the scams
> to victims. LOL
>
> Malcolm
>
***Well, is the Social Security scam government sponsored in USA? How about
Fannie mae,
Sallie Mae and Freddie mac. Yes, normally big time scams are usually big govt
backed
somehow. Or there is also money workng against govt backed scams.

Govt workers have coercive and police powers. the first step in any reform is
to reduce the
size of govt and cut taxes concomitantly. Let's see if Nigeria reduces taxes
too.

As people begin to take the oppty to earn an honest living, most people will
take it. the
whole tension in all of Puzo's Godfatehr books was a Don's desire to go legit.
This is human
nature. Will the Chinese be a beacon of Hope to the world?

John

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